THE SOUTHBOURNE Ales Brewery should be open by the beginning of November, its owner says.

Problems with getting SSE to install vital electrical equipment delayed the project, which was initially set for a summer opening.

Owner Jennifer Tingay told the Echo: "We were intending originally to open the brewery side first, to get that fully up and running. Then we would start thinking about the bar side.

"Now, it is likely they will open in line with one another."

The 20 barrel brewery will be capable of producing up to 15,000 pints a week.

The frontage to the Poole Hill building has been attracting significant attention from residents and visitors to the town.

"Everyone has been saying, 'wow, isn't that amazing, I never knew it was there all along', but we tell them 'it wasn't there all along, we've made it'. But it's a real compliment really," said Jennifer.

Southbourne Ales will become the first purpose-built brewery in Bournemouth itself - the Bournemouth Brewing Company, which has been running for several years, is actually based in Poole.

However, an in-house microbrewery is currently operating at the nearby Brewhouse and Kitchen pub.

Jennifer, who worked as the quality manager at Ringwood Brewery for seven-and-a-half years, launched Southbourne Ales in 2013 and started brewing at Town Mill Brewery in Lyme Regis.

Southbourne Ales’ new Poole Hill premises, which was once occupied by a Rolls-Royce showroom and an ironmongers, had been empty for 16 years before Jennifer and her team started work.

Jennifer said: "We've had so many people come in and volunteer, it is such a team effort. We've had a lot of people getting out of their comfort zones. I don't know how many opening nights there are going to be, there are too many people we'll have to invite to say thanks.

"We might need to have four or five opening nights before the official one."

The company plans to run tours of the brewery during working hours and hopes to include a public bar, opening from 11am-11pm. They also hope to produce 5,760 pints a week.